Jefferies Adds Senior Research Analyst to Cover Leisure; Anna Barnfather Enhances Firm's European Coverage, Will Follow Hotel and Gaming Companies

The hiring of Ms. Barnfather augments Jefferies' establishedcoverage of the gaming and leisure industries. Jefferies' team of four(4) senior analysts in the U.S. and Europe now includes: Lawrence A.Klatzkin and Aimee K. Marcel, US gaming; Samir Jain, US lodging andAnna Barnfather, European hotel and gaming.

Cliff Siegel, Chief Executive Officer of Jefferies InternationalLtd., commented: "Anna Barnfather is a significant addition toJefferies' well-known gaming and leisure team. Her global perspectiveextends our strong US coverage of the industry at a time when thereare a number of major developments in Europe, including the partialderegulation of gaming in the UK, and a wave of consolidation andasset disposals in continental European hotel groups."

Ms. Barnfather has seven years experience in the Leisure sector asboth an analyst and a corporate financier. Prior to joining Jefferies,she was a Managing Director in the European Hotels and Gaming EquityResearch team at Bear Sterns International Ltd, where she consistentlyachieved top rankings. Previously, she was a Vice President in theEuropean Leisure & Beverages Equity Research team at JPMorgan Chase,and an Associate in the Consumer Corporate Finance team at ChaseManhattan. Ms. Barnfather has an M.A. in Economics and Sociology fromUniversity of Edinburgh, and is ACA qualified.

Ms. Barnfather will be based in the firm's London office.

About Jefferies

Jefferies, a global investment bank and institutional securitiesfirm, has served growing and mid-sized companies and their investorsfor over 40 years. Headquartered in New York, with more than 25offices around the world, Jefferies provides clients with capitalmarkets and financial advisory services, institutional brokerage,securities research and asset management. The firm is a leadingprovider of trade execution in equity, high yield, convertible andinternational securities for institutional investors and high networth individuals. Jefferies International Limited, a UK-incorporated,wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Jefferies Group, Inc., wasestablished in London in 1985 and is regulated by the FinancialServices Authority ("FSA").